Kindle Edition Amazon Category:  Romance Publisher: Black Lyon Publishing ISBN-10:  193491245X Pages: 130 Copyright: May 13, 2012 ISBN-13: 9781934912454 Julian Montgomery is a shiftless gambler crisscrossing the country in pursuit of poker games and cocktail waitresses. Or so the rest of the world believes. In truth, he’s a special agent for the FBI, moving from one assignment to the next. When a murderer surfaces in his small southern hometown, Julian’s assignment is to protect the one woman who is far from happy to find him back in Crystal Lake, TN. Excerpt The cool, clear nights of early autumn finally graced the rolling hills and sprawling valleys of East Tennessee. The last whispers of summer still lingered in the brilliant burst of afternoon sunlight, but as night fell over the foothills of the Smoky Mountains the chill coloring the hills with fall’s fiery glow would settle over the picturesque countryside. The National Park was twenty miles to the south, the banks of the Tennessee River about the same distance the other way. In between were counties crisscrossing in a patchwork of rural splendor. Julian turned off the highway that would twist and turn all the way through the mountains, the battered pickup chugging down the winding two-lane he could drive with his eyes closed. There was occasionally a charming farmhouse or rustic log home, but mostly pastures, meadows and thickets of trees flanked the blacktop. Another ten miles, and he made the left turn that brought him right back where he started thirty years ago. Crystal Lake was just far enough off the beaten path for the stunning views of wooded hills and the sparkling water of its namesake not to be marred by rows of blinking signs, and close enough to catch the overflow of tourists looking for a more serene escape. It was the sort of place that defined small southern town. The historic downtown square was hemmed in by the courthouse, post office, a few small shops touting everything from fresh flowers to gourmet coffee, and a couple of other old buildings that had been renovated into office space. The town was founded by folks looking to keep life as quiet as possible. Turned out the tourist trade feeding many of the big cities and small towns across the state was a necessary evil. So, locals went on about their quiet lives, extending as much southern hospitality as they could muster to the tourists plumping the local economy. Julian stopped the truck at the curb of the square, sliding a pair of sunglasses over his eyes as he got out. Cobblestone paths ran in circles, beds of flowers and ferns spilling over onto them. Park benches and huge stones kids could scale were shaded by weeping cherry trees and maples just about to explode into burnished glory. The air cooled as he stepped out of the sunshine, mockingbirds swooping and squawking over his head as he stopped at the center of the square. It was his earliest memory, sitting on a bench in this square with his father at his side, telling him how it was their ancestor who founded the place their bloodline called home for generations. There was such pride in his voice and in his tawny eyes as they roamed over the only place Aiden Montgomery ever wanted to be. For Julian there was always wondering what lie beyond the county line. “Shame on you for sneaking into town like this, Julian. Now we won’t have time to arrange a parade, or proclaim a national day of celebration.” The corners of Julian’s lips twitched. He turned, sliding the sunglasses from his face. “I’m sorry, Sheriff. But, it isn’t like you didn’t know I was coming.” The sheriff came closer. To anyone giving them a passing glance, it would be no surprise to find out a mere eight minutes separated them. Their father always said find Julian, and Ryan would be right behind him. They weren’t identical twins, but shared the same long, lean frame with just enough muscle to keep them from being lanky and the same jet-black hair. Where Julian avoided a barber enough for his to wave down past his collar, his twin sported the closely-cropped military cut preferred by lawmen. Ryan slipped the Aviators from the bridge of his nose. It was the eyes that made the difference. Clear, deep blue eyes that crinkled at the corners as his brother smiled. Their mother’s eyes their father always said in the hushed, mournful tone haunting his voice whenever he spoke of the woman his sons couldn’t remember. Dropping the glasses into the pocket of the tan shirt bearing the patch of his authority, Ryan extended a hand. “Welcome home, brother.” Julian slid his palm over his twin’s, pulling him into a tight hug. He was indeed home. Slapping a hand to Ryan’s back, he pushed him away to study him closely. “You look like hell.” “Good to see you too,” Ryan snorted. Bracing his hands on his lean hips, he heaved out a sigh. “I haven’t been sleeping much lately.” Julian felt his knees turn to water as he fell back onto one of the benches. Furrowing both hands through his hair, he avoided his brother’s gaze. “I’m sorry, Ryan. I should have been here. I knew when I saw him at Christmas he was getting worse every day.” “The old man is fine, considering the last round of chemo damn near killed him,” Ryan said casually as he sat down by his twin. Julian stared at him for a long moment, his heart pumping like a jackhammer against his chest. “He’s not..? “Nope.” Ryan shook his head. “I’m not sure he’ll see another Christmas, but when I left the house this morning he was bitching at Gran about runny eggs.” The sweet relief flooding through him turned to a whip of fury sprinting through his blood. “You sorry…” Julian gritted out. His brother was up on his feet before he could knock him from the bench. “Looks like somebody has gotten slow and soft while earning a living playing games and swilling whiskey,” Ryan chuckled. He landed sprawled on his back as Julian tackled him at the knees. He grunted when a hard jab to his belly emptied the air from his lungs. They rolled, throwing punches and trading insults, all around the charming square. When Julian tried to struggle up onto his feet, Ryan lifted a foot to hurl him back into a clump of ferns. He dodged the right hook he’d been evading since they were toddlers as he thrust a knee into Ryan’s gut. “What do you two idiots think you are doing?” Julian was hauled up onto his feet by the collar of his shirt. When Ryan scrambled after him, a polished wingtip landed center of his chest, knocking him back into a cluster of wildflowers. Julian smiled, spinning on a heel to face his captor. “Hey, little brother. How’s it going?” Logan thrust him down onto the bench, his dark eyes spanning the square. He wore a neatly pressed, ivory button down shirt with a navy tie that matched the pinstripe in his trousers. Taller and even broader in the shoulders than his older brothers, good fortune assured he did not share their quick tempers. But, the dark hair, the same angular jaw and ready smile assured he was a Montgomery through and through. “For God’s sake,” Logan gritted out, reaching down to grab Ryan to pull him up onto his feet. “The whole town can see y’all acting like a couple of kids on the playground.” He dusted leaves and mulch off his brother’s back. “Get off me,” Ryan growled, jerking a shoulder. Logan’s eyes pinned Julian again. “You’re back, what? Five minutes before y’all are brawling?” “Something like that.” Julian spit blood into a bed of lilies, running his tongue over his teeth to make sure none were missing. Logan glanced around again, nodding at an old couple rounding the square. “I realize any sense of decorum is wasted on you two, but I would rather my boss not look out his office window to find my idiot brothers tumbling around in flowerbeds, trying to beat the hell out of each other.” “He looked like hell before I laid a hand on him,” Julian insisted, cocking his head at his twin. Logan turned to Ryan. “You’re the sheriff now. What kind of example does this set?” Before his brother could reply, he spun back to Julian. “I have worked myself closer to an early grave to become the youngest Assistant District Attorney in the state. I’ll be damned if I’m going to let dumb and dumber humiliate me in front of the whole town.” “Give me a break,” Julian drawled, leaning back on the bench. “It isn’t like folks don’t know who your daddy is.” “You sorry…” Logan ripped off his pricey watch, hurled it at Ryan, and jerked Julian from the bench. Ryan winced as Logan landed a driving fist into his twin’s gut. “His brother being sheriff might have a little something to do with it too,” he muttered. When Logan reeled backwards from the punch to his jaw, he pushed him back into Julian. He slid the watch onto his wrist, holding it out to inspect it. Julian toppled into him, so he shoved him back toward Logan. “This is nice.” He examined the watch closer. When his twin landed at his feet and bloody drool smeared all over his boot, he jerked his foot away. “Hey, man! That’s gross.” Logan staggered as Julian swept out a leg to make contact with his ankle. Ryan’s gaze darted to the parking spaces at the curb. “Uh, oh.” He reached down to jerk his twin onto his feet as Logan rose up onto his with a groan. She came at them with the expression they learned to dread before they were out of diapers. Her silver hair was clipped into a chic bob skimming her clenched jaw, her piercing green eyes spitting fire. She wore a pair of black silk pants, a vibrant red blouse cinched at her waist with a silver link belt, and black alligator skin pumps that clicked along the cobblestone with her determined steps. She was a petite thing, still slim and fit at nearly seventy-five years old. And Miranda Montgomery was by far the toughest Montgomery of all.

Romance Studio
“The plot of this story was powerful, and progressed really well that I couldn’t for one second put the book down. As for the dialogue, it was great in showcasing the love-hate relationship Rowan had for Julian because he was the one that left her. Both the main characters as well as the secondary characters were well-developed, adding their own impact to the story to keep this reader interested. The sex scenes were hot, and illustrated just how much Julian and Rowan still wanted each other after so much time apart. What I liked about the hero was that he didn’t allow Rowan’s attitude towards him to turn him away from protecting her while with the heroine, I liked her strong and feisty attitude and how determined she was to not need anybody even though in the end it was evident that she did.

Returning to Love was a great book by this author whose work I’ve read for the first time. Yet now I can’t wait to read more of her stuff because for sure the secondary characters of this story are destined to have their own tales told.“